Vital Questions to ask your Wedding Co-ordinator
TLC Design & Events
Hiring a wedding co-ordinator can be a great way to help maintain your sanity when the wedding planning looks like it’s getting out of control. However, to get the best out of your partnership for this hugely important event, it’s important to continue to keep track of what’s going on. Here are some suggestions for vital questions to ask your wedding planner as the big day approaches.
Progress updates
You’ll probably want to be in increasingly close contact with your co-ordinator as the months, weeks and days count down. Ask if you can have meetings scheduled well in advance at times convenient to you. If you are happy with email updates and the occasional phone call, make sure you’ll get your updates on the same day every week or fortnight. It’ll reassure you about what to expect when.
If you’re someone who likes to be able to pick up the phone at the drop of a hat, it’s worth asking if there are limits on the number of phone calls you can make per day. It may be set out in your contract, but if not or if you think you’re likely to go over the limit, ask about charges for more frequent contact.
Budget updates
A good wedding planner knows how to manage a budget, within the limits you set out.
Although avoiding headaches and details is a major reason why people hire wedding co-ordinators, you should still keep a regular check on expenditure. It’s your money (and quite a lot of it) so don’t be shy about asking how the budget is going, and whether your planner is (hopefully!) securing vendor discounts. Every little bit helps!
Which vendors?
No doubt you’ll have consulted over the florists, catering and other services, but it’s wise to check that the agreed vendors have in fact been retained.
Should your co-ordinator suddenly come up with a different vendor without being able to give you a good reason for the change, it may be that a commission or referral fee is involved.
Always ask if you are unsure why a change is being made. If you don’t ask, there’s a risk your big day could be let down because the florist or caterer isn’t up to the job. Make sure you get the services you want!
When there’s more than one co-ordinator involved
You may find you’re dealing with more than one person if you have employed a planner for the overall event, and your reception venue employs a reception co-ordinator. The key question here is to make sure these two people are in regular communication and on common ground. Best to speak to each of them separately to find out whether anything looks likely to fall into a gap between the two. Statements like: “Your reception co-ordinator assured me…..so I’m leaving that to her/him,” should ring warning bells. Always check with the other party.
Risk management
Ask about contingencies. Sometimes the unexpected happens. What’s the plan if you trip up on your way into the ceremony, and tear your dress? What happens if your reception co-ordinator or wedding planner is ill on the day? Who will fill in, and how are they briefed?
The big day
Don’t assume that your wedding planner is going to be there all day. Make sure. Ask for a walk through and check timelines, musical cues for the ceremony, and plans for the cake cutting.
Have you assumed the planner will take care of post-event clean-up or logistics such as taking care of getting wedding presents somewhere safe, returning rented items and getting vendor deposits back? Don’t assume it will happen – ask what the plan is, and if there isn’t one then you’ve a chance to do something about it before the day.
Even when you’ve handed arrangements over to other people to manage, it’s always wise to regularly check things are happening, as you wish.